Our First Weekend in TRNC

We have just arrived in Cyprus and spent a really enjoyable weekend. Saturday with the sun shining we had an early al fresco light breakfast on our first floor balcony with the backdrop of Bellapais Abbey and the mountains as we live in the village of Ozankoy. We had lunch at The Pia Bella Hotel in Girne as part of the British Residents Society (BRS) welcome to new memebers (those that joined in 2006 - if you are coming here to live this is a valuable source of information help and advice call in to the Pegasus Pub on the Lapta road on any Friday to find out more). A very pleasant 3 hours mixing with ex pats learning all sorts of interesting snipits. The food was good and drinks very resonable 3ytl for an Effes and 2ytl for coffee. After lunch we took a leisurely walk through Girne soaking up the local atmosphere, the hustle and bustle of the locals enjoying their day off especially the youngsters. The evening was spent with a friend who arrived on the Island the same day as us chatting and drinking at home.

Sunday a 'full English' was called for before our walk up into Ozankoy village to the 5 Fingers Restaurant . We were warmly met by Sue & Alex and their two children. Sunday is table top day where anyone can sell their wares and everyone is welcome. This was the third Sunday of the market and there were people selling oil paintings, cd's & dvd's, oil lamps, wool, bric-a-brac, homemade cakes soups & chutneys etc. Several Turkish locals were buying & mingled allowing us to try out our few words of Turkish. A couple of familiar faces from the lunch at the Pia Bella were there. I am sure with time this Sunday Market will be a real winner and more sellers will encourage more buyers - everyone is greeted like a long lost friend and for 5ytl you can get a large cafaterie of 'Directors Blend' coffee (which can also be bought there as beans or ground) and while away the time chatting to anyone & everyone. When you visit the 5 Fingers visit their bookshop where you can buy a variety of new or secondhand books. After our walk home we relaxed reading for a couple of hours before enjoying a home cooked roast supper accompanied by a bottle of local white wine 'Villa Doluca' - this is the life and not a power cut all weekend - Cheers!